Saturday, September 13, 2014

I want to take a moment to thank all of you who followed me over the past three years. Your
support over the past years has meant a lot to me. The blogging
community really is wonderful, and I feel that many of you are friends,
even though we may have never met each other in person. So thank you
again for putting up with these changes.

I am trying to simplify my life a little and not have a bunch of
different blogs. I tried having one for my dreams which didn't work, and
one for spiritual and tarot posts, but I was just finding keeping two
blogs to be too much and confusing. Not to mention all the different google identities and gmails - exhausting! Plus I don't want to parcel myself
out into separate parts. So I will still be blogging about gothic
fashion, and strange Victorian history, but I will also be talking about
tarot, Wicca and spiritual subjects. If certain posts aren't your
taste, that's okay, just skip them over. We don't all like the same
things.

This also reflects a change I am making in my life, which is to take my
skills as a tarot reader and an artist more seriously. They are two
things I really love doing and want to use them to help others and make
them a bigger part of my life.

If you follow me on Youtube, Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram you may have
noticed the name change to Enchanted Parlour. I am trying to be more
consistent, across the social networks. I will be starting a Facebook
page too, in the near future.

I think the new name brings together my gothic and witchy side. It
suggests magic, and wonder but also reminds me of Victorian parlours
where people would meet for tea leaf readings and seances.
I hope you enjoy the new blog, and look forward to our new adventures together.

I will still keep this page up as I am proud of the work I've done. I'm just continuing the blog onward at another address.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

A couple of weeks ago I went shopping with a coven mate of mine, at one of our favourite local new age stores. It was there that a lovely tarot deck caught my eye. The Shadowscapes tarot by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.

ArtworkI was drawn in by the beautiful illustrations by Stephanie. They have a light airy feel to them with lots of pastel hues. The watercolour and ink artwork is lovely and the images are fairy like with lots of fantastical characters and animals. I personally usually prefer handmade art over most of the computer type animation, so this definitely suited my tastes. Each suit is dominated by a certain colour and features a certain animal. Swords uses purple hues and swans, Wands has red and yellow and uses foxes, Cups is blue and features fish and mermaids, and Pentacles is green with lots of plants rather than an animal. The major arcana does not feature a single colour or animal, but each image is it's own, reflecting the archetype it represents. If you are not a fan of borders, this deck does have them, but as they are lightly coloured, it should not get in the way too much. I know there are readers who hate borders but it doesn't affect me personally. The backing artwork is beautiful and reversible, although the companion book does not include revers meanings. But if you want to read reversals the backing art is fine for this.

Companion BookThe companion book that came with the deck is substantial and the design is lovely with full page reference illustrations. I found that the information is quite good, but I prefer it when the author breaks up the description of the symbols from the divinitory meanings. This is just a personal preference though as it makes using the book as a reference quicker.

PackagingThe artwork on the box is very beautiful, just like with the cards and book. The box is not very sturdy though so I haven't been storing the deck in it. It came with the book in it and the deck plus a smaller cardboard box. I am not a fan of this style of packaging, as I find the both the large and small boxes have a tendency to fall apart.

The Backing Art

Size and WeightThe cards are not too large or small as they are bigger than playing cards, but not too big for my tiny hands to manage. The quality of the card stock isn't terrible, but it's not super high quality either. I had my cards in a protective bag in my purse and it rained, and the dampness made them warp slightly which was disappointing.

Readability(Is that even a word?) I would place this deck at an intermediate level as the images are not Rider Wait style and the number of objects (cups, wands etc) are not always immediately apparent when first looking at the art work. The artist does do a great job of conveying meaning in the artwork and the beauty of the images does draw both the reader and querent in.

OverallI would give this deck an 8 out of 10. While I have some issues with the quality of the stock and packaging, the stunning art is what makes this deck, and the companion book is a good reference guide and lovely to look at on it's own.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Monday, September 1, 2014

I'm happy to see that monthly themes are back on the Sophistique Noir blog! I love Miss Kitty's themes and it's always fun to read all the other participants' posts as well.

For my daily makeup routine, I always start with Neutrogena's Helioplex sunscreen at 110. It doesn't matter if it is winter or summer I always wear it.

Next I apply liquid liner to my eyes. I prefer kinds that have a small brush rather than a pen tip. I find it is more accurate and you can get thinner lines. After the liner I apply my eyeshadow. Right now I'm using NYX brand. I apply a black to my lower kid and a complimentary colour to what I'm wearing just above that, blending the two together. (Today the colour is the light purple you see above). I then use a makeup sponge to wipe off any fall out and make any corrections. Finally I apply mascara to finish my eye area.

I move on to lips next. I use a long wear lipstick first in a red, as I want my colour to last throughout the day. Right now it's Revlon's Everlasting Wine. However it isn't quite the colour I want, and as I find those lipsticks a bit drying, I use a Mac colour I like overtop instead of the Chapstick like layer you would usually use. This way I have the colour I want and the it's long lasting. My favourite is Dark Side for a deep red.

As a last step I put in my liquid foundation. This may seem backwards, but it helps me to avoid fallout and have a more finished look. I use a fluffy makeup brush to apply for an airbrushed look. I use L'Oreal True Match in porcelain. Below is the finished look.